Page 68 of Sean

“Hide again,” she said to the kids and sent them fleeing into the dark forest.

Julia grabbed for rocks and sticks, hurtling whatever was at hand in an effort to slow Wilson down and give the kids time to get away.

“Julia?” Sean yelled. He sounded close.

“Down here,” she screamed back and kept fighting against Wilson. He was closing in on her, but she wasn’t running. She wanted to keep him engaged. She looked away, searching for another projectile. When she swung her attention back to him, he held a gun in his hands. She dodged to the right, knowing that Wilson wouldn’t hesitate to shoot. A bullet hit a nearby tree at head height causing splinters to fly.

She was ducking back around to try to hit him with the flashlight when her foot caught on a root and she went down hard. She lurched to her feet, temporarily disoriented. Suddenly, Wilson was an arm’s length away, his gun pointed right at her. She had no way to dodge, no options to protect herself. She searched her mind for something to say. Anything that might give her seconds more.

“You’re dead just like your sister,” Wilson said. His gun steadied, and she knew fear like never before. She couldn’t die. The kids needed her. She wanted to tell Sean she loved him. There were so many things left unsaid, undone.

“Please,” she whispered, making Wilson laugh. She was wincing in anticipation of the shot when a crashing sound came from behind her.

A hand on her back shoved her out of harm’s way while a powerful force launched past her headed straight for Wilson. Sean! The gun fired, the sound nearly deafening at this range.

She scrambled to her feet, desperate to see what was happening. Had Sean been hit by the bullet intended for her? Please don’t let that be, she prayed.

She blinked, struggling to distinguish the shapes in the near darkness. Sean had Wilson by the throat with his back slammed against a tree. The gun was on the ground. She dashed forward and grabbed it, so Wilson couldn’t get it again. Then, she realized that Sean had control of Wilson. He was caught at last. The monster was trapped.

But that shot…

“Are you hurt?” She rushed to Sean as he lowered Wilson’s still body to the ground.

“I heard a shot.” Tara was suddenly with them. “Is he dead?” She kicked at Wilson.

“Just knocked out,” Sean said. He was breathing heavily but he seemed unhurt. Julia put her hand on Sean’s chest, getting his attention. “I’m okay. You?”

“Am now. That was…” She didn’t have words for the rush of emotions that hit her, and she had to work not to fling her arms around Sean.

“Let’s truss him up,” Tara said. “Give me your belt.” With her and Sean’s belt, they secured Wilson’s wrists and ankles. “That’ll hold him. You took a chance.” She looked at her brother.

He shrugged. “Had to.”

“Mom?” Eden’s voice filtered through the trees.

“It’s okay, baby. You can come out,” Tara called. Seconds later, they could hear the kids running toward them.

Julia wanted to ask what chance he’d taken, but the kids were with them. She hugged Lucy and Amos. They’d been through so much, but they were safe now. Thanks to Sean. He had Ally Mae in his arms while Eden clung to her mother. Sean caught Julia’s eye for just a second, and she could read the relief in his expression that she felt throughout her body.

“You and Julia get the kids back to the house,” Sean said to his sister as his dad and the other SEALs reached them. “We’ll make sure Wilson gets turned over to the authorities.”

“Come on, kids.” Tara began to lead them away. Julia was about to follow her, but then she suddenly turned back and ran to Sean, flinging herself into his arms. To her relief, he didn’t push her away, just held her close against him for a long moment.

“What did Tara mean by you took a chance?” She had to know.

“It means he took a shortcut to get here by leaping the divide,” Joe answered for Sean.

“The divide?” She lifted her head from Sean’s chest to look at his father.

“An eight-foot-wide rock crevice that marks the original boundary of the ranch,” Joe said. “There’s old barbed wire down inside it. No room for error.”

She understood. Sean had jumped over a hazard that could have been deadly for him if he’d fallen. He’d taken a terrible risk. For her and the kids.

She wanted to kiss him, but she couldn’t. Not now, not there. They were no longer a couple and might never be, but she knew that she would fight for his love. She’d spent her life bouncing from place to place, never trying to stick anywhere—and that was what she’d done with their relationship, too. She’d let him end things. She hadn’t challenged him or tried to change his mind. But this potential that she had with him was worth fighting for. And she wouldn’t be moving on with her life until she was sure of what he wanted. She would do whatever she could to convince him that letting her and the kids in was worth it. There might be pain and sorrow—that was inevitable in life—but it would be outweighed by the happiness.

Now she just had to get him to see that.

THIRTY-SIX

---